My parents
have alpacas, and just recently lost 6 in the storms in
Melbourne to hyperthermia. One of the mothers that died
had a 1 week old baby male who is now being bottle fed.

The
problem is that he wants to drink and does, but during and after
feeding he seems to become paralyzed and falls to the ground.
He takes a few minutes to recover and then he hops up and walks
off on his merry way. We have asked the vet and because not
much is know about Alpacas in Australia in terms of vet care -
they are at a dead end. Their advice was to give him a vitamin
B injection.

My parents
are hesitant to do so, as the vet says he is unsure and that he
would be only experimenting. The baby literally just falls to
the ground and lies there, even if you try to help him to his
feet he is all limp like he is dead. It is really strange to
watch. Could you please help and offer any suggestions in what
we could do to help our little darling?

I am sorry to hear of your parents trouble and hope
this advice will help with the baby. In 1987 I
began studying with Linda Tellington-Jones the
founder and inventor of the Tellington Training
Method and the TTouch. The TTouch is a remarkable
system of body work that is a wonderful tool for
problems just like the one you describe.

The circular movements help to activate neural
pathways. There are many different touches to
choose from the TTouches have animal names to make
them easier to remember. The TTouches are very
effective but very simple. Based on my experience
with camelids and with the TTouch, I would suggest a
combination of the Clouded Leopard TTouch and the
Abalone TTouch (specifically described later). You
could do the TTouches on the baby before and after
he nurses when he is standing before he falls to the
ground or after. The TTouches may help to prevent
the paralysis or may help to shorten the period of
paralysis and ultimately help support a recovery.
They certainly will do no harm and in my experience
will really help him cope and recover. Remember,
that when this baby is out of the woods, that
raising a bottle baby involves special challenges
and requires learning to set boundaries for
appropriate behavior with humans.

Many of the TTouches are circular. Biofeedback
studies on animals indicated that circular touches
help an animal to focus rather than just "bliss
out." The following elements are common to all of
the circular touches. Imagine the circle as the face
of an analog clock (digital thinking wonâ€™t help you
here). Use your fingers to begin pushing the skin in
a circle. Begin the circle at 6 o'clock and continue
around the face of the clock in a clockwise
direction. On a vertical area of the body (e.g. the
side of an alpaca neck), 6 oâ€™clock is toward the
ground.

You want to release the stress that gravity exerts
as you begin the circle. If you are doing a circle
on a horizontal area of the body (e.g. the back of a
standing alpaca) the orientation of your clock
doesnâ€™t matter. Push the skin and underlying muscle
with your fingers from six to nine to twelve to
three to six. Proceed past six and continue to eight
o'clock, in other words you make a circle and then
some.

At the close of the circle pause and release slowly.
Imagine that you are pressing in on a sponge and
allowing the sponge to expand under your fingers as
you release the pressure. The pressure as your
fingers move around the clock should remain steady.
This will help you move skin rather than rubbing
across the fiber. Each circle is done in a new
location.

Slide your fingers on the body to the new location.
The new spot may only be an inch or so from the
last. It is important not to repeatedly stimulate
the same spot. Stimulating the same spot causes the
nervous system to zone out. In some cases it will
irritate the animal.

The amount of pressure used to move the skin is
described based on a 1â€”10 scale. The lightest touch
a 1 pressure is equivalent to the lightest touch
that you can feel on your eyelid but still move the
skin in a circle. If you press your eyelid to the
point just before discomfort and then imagine using
that amount of pressure on a muscle mass, that would
be a 3 pressure. A 9 or 10 is about three times that
hard or as hard as you could push on a muscle mass
without discomfort.

Generally I use a 1â€”5 pressure on camelids. The
amount of pressure you use depends on the part of
the body you are working with and the animal. Watch
for the animalâ€™s reaction. If he seems unhappy or
uncomfortable, change the pressure or the type of
TTouch.

The circles are random. You may be stimulating
acupressure points, or you may not be. Donâ€™t worry
about it. The speed with which you complete the
circle is determined by the reaction of the animal.
Llamas or alpacas that are nervous may respond more
favorably to faster circles. Most often slower
movement is better but in this particular case you
might try faster circles and see what works. Your
aim is to move in sync with the animal. As your
llama calms down your circles become slower. Four to
six seconds for each circle is not too slow.

Clouded leopard: The most basic TTouch

The hand rests lightly on the body slightly curved.
The movement is done with the pads (fingerprint) of
the fingers. Wherever possible the thumb rests
against the animal. With the middle three fingers
lightly touching each other and the little finger
slightly apart and resting on the body, move the
skin in a circle. Be sure to allow your knuckle
joints to follow the fingers to maintain softness in
the hand, arm and shoulder.

Remember to breathe. You need not breathe in a
particular way but breathe easily, audibly and
regularly.

A common tendency is to stiffen the fingers. This
inhibits your breathing and doesn't feel as good to
the recipient. The Clouded Leopard circles can be
used anywhere on the body. In the case of this baby
I would work where he feels comfortable with the aim
of covering his whole body.

The Abalone would be another excellent TTouch to try
with this baby.

Place the entire surface of your hand on the body.
Allow your hand to conform to the shape of the body.
Move your entire hand in a complete circle and then
some, using a 2-3 pressure as described previously.

Because this TTouch is generalized, it doesnâ€™t feel
invasive or threatening and is a good way to work on
the whole body quickly.

Good luck with this baby. I would love to hear how
it all turns out and if you think that the TTouch
work is having an effect.